Any Gordon O/O

Hi Sal, Great idea for a thread. I'm not a Gordon O/O, looked into it because I thought it would be a way to run for Gordon and take one or more of my dogs along. I talked to several Gordon O/Os and drivers who drive for O/Os. They get the same loads as company drivers, no difference; Gordon shops are available to them. All had Columbias. One did not have an APU and had literally gone in to ask about a tractor nobody else wanted to drive. Gordon sold it to him for $40,000. I tried to talk him into selling it to me and upgrading to a newer tractor with APU. He thought about it but it never went further. One caution: one O/O had a small fender bender when his rig rolled into the back of a trailer. Caused no damage to the trailer, minor cosmetic to his fender. Gordon could have terminated his lease over this minor mishap and had him on edge while a decision was rendered. That's a little scary. As a result, he said his next lease/contract will not be with Gordon to get away from Gordon gotcha's. The tractors I saw all had Detroits, by the way. No ISXs. Vic

 

When, if, I buy a truck I want to buy outright and would probably not have an APU. Truck would just have to stay running. APUs are nice. The trucks I drive now do not have APUs but the company has no complaints re mileage, doesn't monitor idling. Otherwise the dogs stay home and a neighbor watches after them. I'm interested in Schneider's load board and Landstar. The plus with Schneider is that you choose your own loads and have access to their shops. With an older truck, you need a good mechanic!

Company I drive for does allow dogs but I haven't tried yet.

 

I like the idea of leasing to gordon wanting more info tho

 

I would recommend starting as a company driver unless you already own your truck.

That way you could get use to the system before forking over those lease payments.

Personally I would never lease a truck from anyone. If I lost my mind completely I might buy one.

Never understood why someone would lease a truck and take all the risk. If it was such a great deal then companies wouldn't lease their trucks.

 

Depends on the business model of the carrier. I think there are 'non-asset-based' trucking companies out there, like Landstar worth looking into. Not sure which, if any, are any good, tho. And while Landstar doesn't lease trucks per se (that I know of, anyway), they help out on tires and other things. Gordon has a great warranty, but same force dispatch for O/Os as company drivers. That's a big rub.

I think Gordon wants six months as a company driver before it will lease you a truck anyway. Info is on web site as far as whom to talk to.

 

Wat r the long haul hauls like tho, mainly east or west??? And I already have my truck.